Maneka Gandhi seeks cheaper education loans for girls

NEW DELHI: Union minister Maneka Gandhi has sought education loans on concessional rates for girl children in an effort to promote their education. The women and child development minister has made the request in a letter to HRD minister Smriti Irani and finance minister Arun Jaitley.

The WCD ministry, in conjunction with the HRD and health ministries, runs the NDA's flagship 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme which aims at ending female foeticide and promoting the education of girls.

In her note to Irani, Maneka wrote, "When it comes to sending children for higher education, parents often distinguish between girls and boys... The girls often get denied the privilege of higher education or specialised courses only because parents do not wish to take a loan for their daughter's education."

She added that while other interventions were being looked at, a "small incentive" could be a concessional rate of interest on education loans.